Skiing

I had a fabulous day on the mountain -- no wind, sunny, in the 40s and wide-open groomed runs. It just doesn't get much better than that unless there were a few inches of fresh powder!

I'm so blessed - I'm spending 5 weeks skiing in Colorado, sharing a condo with my sister, Paula and her husband, Ken.

Today we skied Keystone, tomorrow Breckenridge; and next week, it'll be Vail and Beaver Creek too. Vail Resorts offers the best deal for skiers with their Colorado Pass - only $449.00 and it covers 5 resorts with just a few restrictions (http://www.coloradopass.com/).

My friend, Don, is enjoying his retirement because he's fulfilled his life-long dream of living on a ranch in Texas. His passion is riding and he gets to ride every day.

My wish for you is to find something you're passionate about because to truly succeed at retirement, you've got to find a sport or hobby that you love. How else will you fill all those spare hours since you're no longer working? If you're still looking for your passion, I strongly encourage you to talk to your friends about their interests, visit your local Senior Center or check out classes at your local Junior College.

So what are you passionate about? I'd love to hear from you about your favorite sport or hobby. Just add a comment below or send me an email to Retired.Rosie@gmail.com

Relocation - Health Care

Competent health care provided by doctors and hospitals covered under your insurance company is a primary consideration in retirement. Before you seriously consider relocating to another state, you should confirm that you can transfer your insurance coverage to that state and determine if there will be an increase in your rates. It's even more critical to check this out beforehand if you are covered by an HMO. I found out from some of my neighbors that coverage by their previous HMO was not available in Colorado. So they had to immediately find another HMO and for some, the cost increased as much as $150 per month. With so many people entering retirement without the benefit of health coverage, you might even want to consider relocating to a state with low health care costs. You can check out www.bestplaces.net/COL which will give you a total overall health cost comparison between your current city and the one you plan to move to. In my search for a retirement community, I seriously considered moving to active adult communities in Florida, South Carolina and Texas. One of the first things I did when visiting a community was to find out from the salesman how close were the nearest hospitals. Then I would call the hospital to find out if they had specialists in the health care area that I needed. For example, if you had heart problems, you'd want to live in close proximity to a hospital with a well-established cardiology department. Then I spoke with some of the people living there and asked about their doctors - were they satisfied with them; did they meet or exceed the care of their previous doctor; and most importantly, would you recommend them? Some of the active adult communities are so pro-active in health care that they have a small medical clinic in their community as well as their own EMTs and ambulance service. That's essential if a hospital is not nearby. If you're really concerned about the health care facilities in your area or where you're planning to move, you can get a hosptial report card http://www.healthgrades.com/ for less than $20.

Relocating in Retirement

Where do I want to live? That's one of the top questions facing most people when they retire. Florida was the Mecca for our parents and older retirees; so like me, I'm sure that most of you have thought about retiring there at least once. In July 2005, I began searching for my ideal retirement home. I visited Florida (Ocala, Miami, Leesburg), South Carolina (Del Webb Hilton Head) and Texas (Austin, Dallas). It was just too humid for me in the summer in those southern states, so I decided to stay in Colorado. Before calling the moving van, some of the things you should consider are: cost of living; taxes; health care, eduational and job opportunities; living near children & grandkids; leaving family & friends; moving out of the 'family' home; climate, quality of life (theater, churches, sports) and one of the most important, if married --- where does my spouse want to live. I'll be covering those topics in more detail in future blogs. Any questions bugging you about retirement ---- send them to me at Retired.Rosie@gmail.com